Demise of the handbrake.

[kingrollo]

Amusing conversation. I was looking a cars with the 'help' of a car salesman...I liked the look of one particular car ...but the button instead of a physical handbrake was a turn off.

He went into this long spheil of how he hears this a lot and yet people soon adapt to it and even like the button, a physical handbrake gets in the way and things get shared on it......

I replied
Current car has the button and both myself and Mrs KR hate it.!!!

 

[Beebo]

My electric car has no hand brake. It’s brilliant.

You only really need a handbrake with a manual car, and lots of these have hill start assist.

 

[MichaelW2]

Im surprised that the car designers who have all attended car design school all choose the button with no "haptic feedback". On various Car Club motors have trouble knowing if the brake is on off.
A small, vestigial handbrake lever would do the job.

 

[fossyant]

I have an auto, so it was silly getting the model with a handbrake. I still use it as a "handbrake" as such, as after being parked, I still release it as the car then creeps away in the desired direction. It will still release if I press the accelerator, but it's more 'instant' - releasing the 'button' is better when in tight spaces. Also frees up the space in the middle of the 'van' so we can put stuff between the two seats, rather than a handbrake being in the way.

The only disadvantage is changing pads - you need an ODB11 reader to set the brakes into service mode. I'll get my garage to do them as I don't have a piston winder anyway.

On a manual they can be easier for drivers with the hill start assist/clutch assist that they all seem to have - my daughter learnt in one.

 

[fossyant]

Im surprised that the car designers who have all attended car design school all choose the button with no "haptic feedback". On various Car Club motors have trouble knowing if the brake is on off.
A small, vestigial handbrake lever would do the job.

You can feel my handbrake go on, mainly as it's an auto, so you feel the motor engage as the brake pedal moves away slightly, the auto clutch disengages and there is an audible motor noise - there is also a big notification on the dash that the handbrake is applied ! If you try anything stupid, then the sirens start. That certainly wakes you up.

 

[Drago]

Proper handbrake in my van and the Volvo.

Mrs D's BYD is interesting. Drive away andnthe electronic parking brake automatically disengaged, as do most of them. However, come to a stop and gife the brake pedal a firm stab and the parking brake sets itself without having to touch controls. Nische.

I dknt know why anyone needs hill start assist. Drivers who cant coordinate the controls manually for a hill start shouldnt be on the road in the first place. The van has it, and HDC too - neither get used.

 

[Oldhippy]

Much prefer an actual handbrake personally. Less to go wrong and fix it yourself type of thing.

 

[markemark]

Current car is EV, previous was automatic. Both had electronic handbrakes that knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Both completely automated and did everything perfectly so have not found the need to do want to do it manually ever since. There's a button there I've not pressed in many years and unlikely ever to do again. Hill starts, stopping at lights, parking etc. All taken care of

As for fixing it myself, I wouldn't have attempted that on my old cars anyway.

So it's a thing that has been automated and works perfectly. Fine me with.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I had a manual car with a button handbrake. I initially didn't like it, but when I got used to it it was better than a physical hand brake. Mostly because of the hill assist; I would leave it on all the time, so when coming to a stop you could just let your foot of the pedals and the brake would go on. Pulling away, the break let go on its own. Far less yanking of the lever required. And when you shut the engine off it auto handbraked for parking, so in reality you never needed to even touch the button.

More to go wrong, yes. But Mine didn't.

 

[T4tomo]

A manual handbrake is only an advantage if you want to do handbrake turns, and I've grown out of that (I think!)

 

[gbb]

I had a manual car with a button handbrake. I initially didn't like it, but when I got used to it it was better than a physical hand brake. Mostly because of the hill assist; I would leave it on all the time, so when coming to a stop you could just let your foot of the pedals and the brake would go on. Pulling away, the break let go on its own. Far less yanking of the lever required. And when you shut the engine off it auto handbraked for parking, so in reality you never needed to even touch the button.

More to go wrong, yes. But Mine didn't.

Pretty much same as.mine, barring mine doesn't automatically come on when i shut down. Otherwise, I've got quite used to it, no issues with functionality.
No problems with doing brake work either, it has a maintenance.mode which winds the pistons back, some earlier cars needed a garage or some fiddling with a battery on the connections ...the Mazda is easy.

Former manager had a Pug 5008, 2018 that had a problem witha caliper not releasing when commanded. I asked him how much it cost in the end...he seemed a bit reticent and replied...a lot more than I wanted to.pay. They're fine but like so many modern cars, another layer of expense if they go wrong.

That said I don't mind them. Good brake maintenance may be they key to whether they fail or not ?

 

[Specialeyes]

Mrs Spesh's EV (BMW i3) has a teeny button where the handbrake should be (on top of where the transmission tunnel should be...) and although tiny, it does at least follow the topology of a tradition handbrake: lift to apply, push down to release.

My old Volvo XC70, on the other hand, has a a larger switch on the lower dash, just above yer right knee. Despite having had the car for years, I still regularly use the switch the wrong way to apply the handbrake, and have to check every single time for the dashboard light Hill start assist/auto-release is nice though.

 

[Electric_Andy]

More to go wrong, yes. But Mine didn't.

Having said that, the auto-hold would only work if you were wearing your seatbelt. Not a problem for me, but my partner would often park the car on the drive and take her seatbelt off before she was fully stopped. Luckily it was on a level part of the drive. Even after I'd pointed out why it didn't brake itself, she still "wouldn't trust it" even though it was user error

 

[Drago]

My old Volvo XC70, on the other hand, has a a larger switch on the lower dash, just above yer right knee.

Thats where the mechanical parking brake lever is on the XC90.

 

[mustang1]

A handbrake only has one function: to do skids.

If you're not going to do skids, then just get a button handbrake or like some people have mentioned, an auto handbrake which doesn't require any button at all (which is my preference too).